Danes women handed a bye

Tourney opponent Maine declines trip after crash

Published 10:55 pm, Monday, March 4, 2013

Given the choice, of course the University at Albany women's basketball team would rather be playing Friday night. Late Monday afternoon, the defending America East Tournament champions found out they would have the night off.

UAlbany, 16-0 in the league and the No. 1 seed, was scheduled to play eighth-seeded Maine on Friday. That won't happen because officials at the Orono campus announced Monday that Maine's women's team would not be traveling to Albany to compete in the tournament.

The Black Bears' team bus was involved in an accident on Feb. 26 that has left the players shaken and fearful of getting back on the road.

"I really felt for them when it happened," UAlbany coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, who was an assistant coach at Maine from 1992-94, said Monday night. "You just pray no one got hurt. I think we would all rather be playing (Friday) but I completely understand the situation, and I wish them well. That is a scary situation (Maine) went through."

Maine athletic director Steve Abbott did not return a message left on his office phone late Monday afternoon. He did tell the Bangor Daily News that the last thing the women players wanted to do was get on a bus for a seven-hour ride to Albany.

"The overwhelming feeling they had was about traveling on a basketball trip right now," Abbott told the newspaper. "People are in different stages of dealing with this, but the one thing they were all clear about is they wanted to act as a team."

The Maine women's team was involved in the accident on Interstate 95 near Georgetown, Mass., while on the way to Boston University for a game. The bus veered across two southbound lanes, the median and then four northbound lanes before crashing into some trees.

Driver Jeff Hamlin apparently experienced a medical issue, causing him to lose control of the bus. He is currently in fair condition in a Boston hospital.

UAlbany would have been a heavy favorite to beat Maine for a third time. The Danes beat the Black Bears 71-39 at SEFCU Arena on Jan. 12 and then got an 86-54 win in Orono on Feb. 9.

Friday's game was scheduled to be played at 6 p.m. The Danes will receive a bye and will play the winner of the quarterfinal game between No. 4 Stony Brook and No. 5 New Hampshire at 1 p.m. Sunday at SEFCU. The Stony Brook-New Hampshire game will be played at 6 p.m. Friday; it was originally scheduled for 8 p.m.